The game takes place in the world of Orience, which is divided into four nations blessed with Crystals. The main protagonists are the members of Class Zero, a class of fourteen Agito Cadets from Akademeia, the magic academy of the Dominion of Rubrum, one of the four nations of Orience. The cadets are tasked to fight against the Militesi Empire to ultimately win the war that has been fought since time immemorial.

Final Fantasy Type-0 uses fast-paced, action-based combat in which actions are mapped to face buttons rather than accessed through menus. The cadets each have unique playstyles based on their weapon and on their equipped abilities. Much of the combat involves determining enemies' weak points through Killsight, allowing players to deal a deathblow.

A spin-off mobile game called Final Fantasy Agito was released for iOS and Android systems in May 2014 in Japan, but its localization never materialized.

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The battle system is an evolution of the "ATB Kai" system created by Takatsugu Nakazawa for Final Fantasy X-2, and later refined in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. Unlike Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, the combat is party-based. Instead of navigating through menus, actions are mapped to the face buttons for quick access. There are some fighting game style elements like movement-canceling for skilled action players. There are fourteen playable characters who each have their own playstyle: some are fast, some are slow, some are ranged, some specialize in close-combat, and they have different proficiencies in magic use. The player can equip their party with weapons, accessories, and abilities, one ability slot being reserved for a support or defensive-type skill.

The PlayStation Portable version supports both Ad-hoc multiplayer for up to three players, and online Square Enix membership connection. There is no full-scale multiplayer, but an emergency backup when the player's party is about to be wiped out. Multiplayer will normally last for three minutes, but time can be increased through the gathering of SP. The multiplayer option is not available in the HD version.

Players can determine enemies' weak points with Killsight, allowing them to kill the target instantly. Breaksight is applicable to enemies with more than one bar of health, such as strong monsters, bosses, and enemy leaders.

Altocrystarium system.

The Altocrystarium powers up the characters' magic using an energy called phantoma harvested from defeated enemies. When a character absorbs this energy their magic recovers a bit. The amount of recovery depends on the type of phantoma, as indicated by the color. Depending on the type of magic, it can be powered up in different areas. For example, the Fire RF magic can be powered up in strength, MP usage, call time, projectile distance, and speed. All party members share the same spells, but their strength depends on the user's magic stat: one with low Fire magic can only use Fire-level magic, whereas those with high-level Fire magic stat can use the Firaga variants of the spells.

Magic comes in three elemental types: fire, ice, and thunder. The various spells differ in attack pattern and call method. Other elemental magic is also available, but is categorized as 'Advanced' in the Altocrystarium. Such spells are Bio, Tornado, Quake and even Holy.

Ace using Blizzara ROK-II.

Shotgun (SHG): This type spreads at multiple height levels. It doesn't travel far, but is powerful against close enemies. SHG are typically weaker than RF, but they may hit the enemy instantly.

Rifle (RF): This type shoots out straight in the direction of the target. It travels far but has narrow range. Its upgrade, RF2, can pierce through enemies.

Bomb (BOM): This type is effective in the player's immediate surroundings. It can be useful against quick enemies and small enemies. Its upgrade, BOM2, lasts longer and can damage enemies that come in contact with the spell with more hits.

Missile (MIS): This type chases after the enemy before releasing its magic. The higher level (that is, the magic with the "ra" and "ga" at the end of their names) will expand to encompass surroundings. Its upgrade, MIS2, travels slower, but chases the target constantly when in effect.

Rocket Launcher (ROK): When the player begins casting this type, a target will appear. The magic will fire in the direction the player aims. When it strikes, it will explode and damage enemies in the surroundings. ROK's range is short, but can be adjusted with the targeting point held higher as the projectile itself lobs before crashing to the ground.

Characters and Eidolons can learn their individual abilities by using AP won through leveling. Acquiring new abilities may unveil more advanced abilities that will strengthen each character or summon according to their fighting style.

Fighting an enemy leader.

Like Final Fantasy XII, the player can choose the leader of their party of three and party members can be changed manually or when the leader is KO'd. In some cases the victory can be decided in other ways, such as defeating the enemy leader, which will trigger the surrender of its minions. Surrendered minions, regardless of humans or monsters, can be interacted with to obtain various items.

Summons, called Eidolons, gain EXP and AP separately from the summoner. When summoned, they replace the summoner and the player can't have the summoner again in the party until the mission is finished. The summons work as a normal party member and can be directly controlled by the player or by the AI, much like in the Zodiac versions of Final Fantasy XII. When a summon is active, if the player changes to the other character, they may not change to the active Eidolon until it is summoned again. After the Eidolon has disappeared either via running out of time or by being defeated, the summoner will reappear in a KO state. It still allows for reviving until the body disappears for a short period of time.

Triad Maneuvers are group combination skills that require three members to pull off. They are weaker than summons, but can be used multiple times without needing to sacrifice a character. The currently controlled character's AG will be consumed when used, while the others only consume a portion of it.

Skirmish minigame.

The game's structure is mission-based. There are also sub-objectives, called special orders, to strive for. The game has a world map, and the player can ride chocobos or fly an airship and use its weapons in an aerial battle. Battles are initiated by random encounters, but some tough monsters roam around the world map and chase after players if they get too close.

The Final Fantasy Type-0 world map, known as the "Active World Map", features two minigame style elements: War battles, called overworld skirmishes, and airship dogfights. Skirmishes involve moving troops around and capturing areas in an RTS styled manner. Different troops have different strong points e.g. specialized against machines. Special missions give encampments to control and more troops to take charge of. In airship combat, the airship the player controls has machine guns and the player can take on mounted dragons controlled by Concordia in dog fights. There are various kinds of dragons, including larger ones used by the Royal Guard. The player also fights them on the deck.

Simulation Battles – The player can progress through 20 rounds of fighting to level up their characters and acquire phantoma. The player still keeps the experience if they die part way through.

Secret Training – The controlled character will be trained while the console is off or in sleep. The longer the "secret training" session is the more EXP the character will rack up, upwards to 24 hours.

Outside of missions players have a set amount of free time to use up by triggering events, attending lectures, and doing tasks and optional missions. Not all of the content can be done in one playthrough, new content being unlocked in New Game Plus.

Since the dawn of eternity, four lights of hope have shone upon the world.Men flock to these lights, around which they build four peristylia.Each peristylium becomes their faith and society, the path upon which they are set.

The Vermilion Bird—wings of fire to lift the heart.The White Tiger—steely arms by which to seize knowledge.The Azure Dragon—unclouded eyes that see all beneath the sky.The Black Tortoise—a rigid shield and a well-guarded blade.

But when nine and nine meets nine,Tempus Finis shall be willed upon them.For without the Agito, their world—called Orience–must persist in its spiral.In the land of Orience, it is said that 'when Tempus Finis arrives, the crystal will guide Agito, those who will balance the world.'Many interpret this as 'saviors, called Agito, will emerge when the catastrophe, referred to as Finis, befalls this world.'

The world of Orience is divided into four nations blessed with Crystals that grant them unique powers. The Dominion of Rubrum holds the Vermilion Bird Crystal containing the power of magic, allowing its citizens to cast spells and call forth Eidolons. Its ruler is the 174th Chancellor Khalia Chival VI. Milites Empire holds the White Tiger Crystal containing the power of weapons, making the empire the most technologically advanced nation. Its ruler is Imperial Marshal Cid Aulstyne. The Kingdom of Concordia holds the Azure Dragon Crystal containing the power of dragons, allowing its diminutive citizens to communicate with monsters. Its ruler is Queen Andoria. The Lorican Alliance holds the Black Tortoise Crystal containing the power of the shield, allowing the citizens to grow larger than the people of other nations with great resilience. Its ruler is Gilgamesh Ashur.

The four nations have warred among one another since time immemorial. The nations coexisted peacefully for a time under the Pax Codex until Cid Aulstyne, Imperial Marshal of the Militesi Empire, broke the peace treaty and staged an invasion using advanced military technology developed with the power of the White Tiger Crystal.

In Orience exists a legend of Agito, a messiah prophesied in ancient mythology to appear at the time of Tempus Finis, an apocalyptic calamity. The legend of the Agito is written in the Nameless Tome that speaks of sixteen "constellations" and posits the Sixteen will arrive in the world at a certain moment in human form to prevent Finis and "open the gateway."

As per the Will of the Vermilion Bird Crystal, Akademeia, the magic academy of the nation of Rubrum, trains Agito Cadets, who seek to become this savior. The other nations have their own plans for the same goal, Marshal Cid of the Militesi Empire imploring to free Orience from under the Crystals' rule, heralding it to a new future.

Final Fantasy Type-0 features fourteen playable characters, all of whom are Agito Cadets at the magic academy of Akademeia as Class Zero. Each wields a different weapon and has a unique fighting style. Aside from Machina and Rem, the members are named after the Japanese pronunciations of "trumps", or playing cards.

The original twelve members of Class Zero.

Machina and Rem.

Ace: A blond-haired boy who wields a deck of cards. Despite his youthful appearance, he speaks and acts mature. Though usually calm, he has a reckless side and will sometimes rush off and act out of anger.

Deuce: A brunette girl who plays the flute. As the youngest member of Class Zero, she is diligent and kind, but can be stubborn.

Trey: A blond-haired boy who wields a bow. He takes pride in being well-mannered and knowledgeable, and can loquacious as a result.

Cater: A red-haired girl who wields a magicite pistol. She is confident and direct, preferring to be competitive and face things head-on.

Cinque: A ginger-haired girl who wields a mace. Although innocent and naive, she tends to react unusually and with unpredictable actions.

Sice: A silver-haired girl who wields a scythe. Her rough speech gives her a tomboy-like personality, but she has good judgment and determination.

Seven: A silver-haired girl who wields a whipblade. As the eldest member of her class, her caring nature and ability to understand others make her popular among the underclassmen.

Eight: A red-haired boy who fights with knuckles. Calm and serious, his combat style reflects his dislike of weapons, which he believes take lives too easily.

Nine: A blond-haired boy who wields a spear. Impulsive and straightforward, he sees the world in black and white and only feels satisfied when things aren't complicated.

Jack: A blond-haired boy who wields a katana. He is the upbeat and humorous class clown, often keeping a smile on his face and encouraging others to look on the positive side.

Queen: A dark-haired girl who wields a longsword. Her dignified appearance and intelligence suit her name, as others often look up to her as a leader.

King: A blond-haired boy who wields dual handguns. He seldom speaks, and possesses a serious demeanor and strong common sense.

Machina Kunagiri: A dark-haired boy who wields twin rapiers, and was transferred into Class Zero alongside his childhood friend, Rem. In spite of his proficiency and straightforwardness, Machina fears losing those close to him and can thus act irrationally.

Rem Tokimiya: A brunette girl who wields twin daggers, and was transferred into Class Zero alongside Machina. She is moral, kind, and honest, and has an outstanding talent for magic.

The clandestine Class Zero saves the Dominion of Rubrum from being conquered by the Militesi Empire, but all areas outside the capital fall under imperial occupation. As the class has shown its worth in the battlefield, it is given two new members—Rem Tokimiya and Machina Kunagiri—and is officially enrolled in Akademeia, the magic academy of Rubrum that trains Agito Cadets under the watchful eye of the Vermilion Bird Crystal. Agito Cadets will be deployed to help in the war effort, as Rubrum sets out to reclaim its lost areas. The task appears monumental before the might of the Militesi Empire, which has developed new weapons of war under the marshal, Cid Aulstyne, who leads the nation. The new Militesi weapon of mass destruction, the Ultima Bomb, wipes the Lorican Alliance off the map of Orience.

Rubrum initially allies with the Kingdom of Concordia against Milites, but the empire is using unconventional means of warfare and deploys its l'Cie into battle. l'Cie were once mortals, but after being chosen by a Crystal became immortal and gave up their humanity in exchange for wielding unimaginable power at the Crystal's behest. Cid Aulstyne has enslaved the White Tiger Crystal and is now using its l'Cie as his pawns.

Rubrum reclaims is lost territories one town at a time. Class Zero is deployed to sabotage the empire's latest magitek project, making it unable to deploy another Ultima Bomb. A ceasefire is called by Queen Andoria of Concordia, but she is assassinated and Class Zero is framed as the culprits. The new King of Concordia allies with Milites and the joint Militesi-Concordian coalition marches upon Rubrum. Class Zero aids Rubrum achieve victory against the overwhelming odds, but unknown to everyone, Class Zero's newcomer member Machina Kunagiri has become a White Tiger l'Cie, and periodically disappears to secret missions.

After Concordia falls Rubrum marches on Milites and wins with Class Zero's help as Cid Aulstyne flees the capital. The Vermilion Bird Crystal's dominion over all of Orience triggers Tempus Finis, the end of the world. The remaining Class Zero cadets decide to travel to the Land of Judgment, Pandæmonium, to become Agito and save the world as per the ancient prophecy. They are tried for the position by Cid Aulstyne, who has become the Judge who decides on the fate of Orience: if there is no Agito, the world will be destroyed.

The Vermilion Bird Crystal asks Class Zero to become its l'Cie, but the cadets decline. The Vermilion Bird makes Rem its l'Cie and sends her to fight Machina, and both enter crystal stasis, a state considered a l'Cie's death. The cadets fail Cid's final crucible and are deemed unworthy to be Agito, but yet persist and defeat Cid as the Rursan Arbiter with Machina and Rem's souls empowering them from their crystal. Tempus Finis is stalled, but the Class Zero cadets perish.

Class Zero's adoptive mother Arecia Al-Rashia's true identity is that of an immortal deity-like figure who has been trying to cultivate a soul that could open the gate to the unseen realm. This became known as the legend of the Agito, and after each end of the world she has restarted the spiral, trapping Orience in an endless cycle. After listening to her children's souls she learns they don't want to be reborn and abandons the project to find the gate to the afterlife with the Agito. Arecia revives Machina and Rem from crystal stasis and disappears from Orience. The Crystals lose their power and magic vanishes from the world.

Final Fantasy Type-0 explores the life and death of humans, as well as mortality and the weight it carries. Director Hajime Tabata has described this thusly: "It is special to see how it depicts the theme of going through a very hard time. I don't think there are any other Final Fantasy games where you get the same feeling of having to go through such a hard and cruel battle as you progress."[3] One decision to depict this feeling of brutality was to show blood, uncharacteristic to the Final Fantasy series, but something Tabata had already had to deal with when directing the ending sequence to Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. This had taught him that if he wanted to show deep emotions and the internal struggle of a fight, they would have to use gory expressions.[3]

Each character is treated as an individual, and the game has no true hero. Instead, all fourteen of the game's playable characters are given an equal spotlight.[4] Tabata described Final Fantasy Type-0 as "a major title that's formed from a variety of concepts." These include, "Collision of four fantasies (the world view and the nations of Orience)", "Killing match between magic and weapons, the battle between magic and technology (battle)", and "The Ordinary and Unordinary (the two sides of reality, the mortal world and unseen realm)".[5][6] During its original form, Final Fantasy Type-0 primarily revolved around challenging the gods.[7] Another underlying theme is a cycle of Orience's death and rebirth and the effort to break that cycle.[8]

The most prominent theme is war and the results it brings to the world. The historical progression of a war and its effects on the younger generation is the main focus of the story.[8] Tabata has cited several underlying themes in the world and story of Final Fantasy Type-0; one of the story themes revolves around death and its effects: a key aspect of the story is the memories of the dead being removed from the living by the Crystals. This scenario was created to make people feel their hatred of death.[9] The game profusely refers to World War II in an emotional and alluding light; being a major conflict that plunged the world into a state of turmoil. Tabata cites inspiration from traditional Japanese war dramas for many of the aforementioned themes, but his most focused theme to communicate through Type-0 was the fragility of life.

Fabula Nova Crystallis logo.

As part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, Final Fantasy Type-0 is also part of an overarching theme that explores the meaning of humans' free will, and re-imagines core Final Fantasy concepts in "modern" ways. Whereas Final Fantasy XIII explored the idea of becoming a "Warrior of Light" (l'Cie) chosen by the crystals to a supposedly divine mission, Final Fantasy Type-0 wants to tell the story of nations powered by Crystals warring over said Crystals—a recurring story in the series. Thus Final Fantasy Type-0's story is plot-driven rather than character-driven, attempting to tell the story of a war from one nation's perspective. Whereas in previous Final Fantasy games the heroes tend to stand apart in resolving the world's conflict since the start, Final Fantasy Type-0 depicts its playable cast as one part of the forces of Rubrum for most of the game.

An overarching theme in the Fabula Nova Crystallis series is that the deities of the world want to make use of humans, either as their "avatars" (by making them l'Cie), or by attempting to use their unique property, souls, for their own purposes. The theme of humanity versus divinity is highlighted in the game's final chapter where Class Zero is asked to become l'Cie. However, succumbing to the Crystal's Will spells disaster for Orience, as it appears that despite the Crystals' efforts one who gives one's soul to a Crystal to harness, cannot actually be Agito, resulting in a staggering number of failed cycles in the spiral of history. Thus Class Zero can only succeed if they exercise their inner strength as humans and turn down the offer to become l'Cie. Even if the Judge deems them unfit to be Agito, the class prevails and overcomes him, releasing Orience from the spiral.

The music for the game is composed by Takeharu Ishimoto. It features performances by T$UYO$HI and ZAX from the Japanese rock band Pay Money to My Pain, Rieko Mikoshiba, Yuko Shimazaki, Cantillation, Yuriko Kaida and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

The game's theme song, "Zero", is performed by the Japanese band Bump of Chicken. In the game the song is frequently sung by Ace. The song was released as Bump of Chicken's 21st single and is not included in the game's official soundtrack.

The blu-ray soundtrack for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD has one new song and a re-translation of the opening theme.[10] "Utakata" is the new song recorded for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, composed by Takeharu Ishimoto and written and performed by Chris Ito, who is also one of the performers of "Colorful - Falling in Love".

Originally titled Final Fantasy Agito XIII, the game was announced for mobile phones but was re-announced for the PlayStation Portable at DKΣ3713 2008. Developers stated the reason for the move was that they did not want to wait for cell phones to be advanced enough to handle the game. The PlayStation Portable version was planned from the start and was meant to be revealed sometime after progress was made on the mobile version. The game drew more attention after being announced for the PlayStation Portable, since mobile phone games had not usually been released outside Japan.

At the Square Enix 1st Production Department Premiere event on January 18, 2011, the game was retitled Final Fantasy Type-0(ファイナルファンタジー 零式, Fainaru Fantajī Reishiki?) because director Hajime Tabata did not think it was similar enough to Final Fantasy XIII to warrant the old title. Square Enix had trademarked the title in December 2010, along with Type-1(壱式, Ichishiki?), Type-2(弐式, Nishiki?), and Type-3(参式, Sanshiki?).

Management ordered Hajime Tabata to step away from the Type-0 project for The 3rd Birthday, another PlayStation Portable game, and balancing the task of directing two games was a challenge and almost led to Type-0's cancellation. The team had to scale down the development and continue minimally. Hajime Tabata has cited this incident as the one that caused him to avoid working on multiple large-scale projects at the same time..[11]

Tabata explained in a Famitsu interview the game would ship in two UMDs because he does not want to cut any content. He wanted to keep the cutscenes' visual quality on par with PlayStation 3 titles, so they had to take the game's real time cutscenes and convert them into movie files so they can be further polished and edited. The disc switch is unusual, making the player have to go from Disc 1 to Disc 2 and then back to Disc 1 again, due to the prologue and final portions of the game being on the first UMD and the rest residing in the second, including the multiplayer mode. Tabata feels the game's ending turned out especially well and that it was a technical masterpiece that goes beyond the specs of the PlayStation Portable.[12]

When the game was being developed for mobile phones as Agito XIII, the story was about challenging a god, and the team reviewed some anime and manga with this theme. The entire scenario changed after the project moved to the PSP to a more believable history, and the current version has nothing left of the original references.[7]

Akademeia engulfed in war.

Final Fantasy Type-0 was intended explore a more mature direction for the franchise and to be Square Enix's effort to create "something for adults".[4] The envisioned theme was "a real war within a fantasy world," and Tabata worked on the title as a documentary that records the account within a fictitious world, and thus the team built various elements on that template.[12] The team wanted to make a game about history of survival. The game was initially being developed for mobile phones, and the plan was to link real time with the game's progression by creating a calendar on the date the player starts the game, and the events and battles would be marked following along the real date and time. The team wanted to keep the concept of "playing along history" even after the platform was changed.[7]

The plot Tabata was initially writing had the progression of the war as the focus, and elements of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology were later added by the scenario writers. Many aspects of the original script were retained, such as the weapon development race between Rubrum and Milites and the cease-fire that was ignored on the battlefield. The original story had another continent in the west holding a black crystal whose name was "west" in Latin. The Orience Alliance Army would launch an attack to this continent, similar to the real world invasion of Normandy during World War II. When Class Zero found out the truth to Khalia and Cid's intention (leaders of Rubrum and Milites), they began to fight to protect their homeland, rather than be involved in a war motivated solely by political reasons, and the other nations' soldiers would follow along with this line of thinking. During this mission majority of the troops would be killed in the enemy stronghold, and Class Zero would end up in a life-or-death battle. In the end, a child would have been born to the player party's side, perhaps depending on the player's choices during the game, or even making the kid the true Agito. Initially, life energy was not known as phantoma, but when the Crystal—made out of that energy that humans pushed to their limit would "exude"—was passed down to their offspring, it could create a human capable of traveling between the mortal world and the unseen world: an Agito. This original setting thus still turned out to be congruent with the Fabula Nova Crystallis lore, although only the last part.[7]

Tabata has mentioned he wanted to create a Final Fantasy where one could "truly feel a vibrant game world and characters" and cited his work on Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- as having sparked his interest in exploring and creating a game with those themes.[13] Tabata wanted to do a Final Fantasy game that depicted life and death and thus the value of life in a more mature and earnest way. To capture the feeling of danger and the fragility of life both the game and combat system emphasized that fragility, and the game wound up being quite dark although that was not the original plan.[14] The overall theme spawned from the idea of the player fighting beside characters born into "a cruel world" torn by conflict.[15]

As the PlayStation Portable was limited memory-wise, Final Fantasy Type-0 did not feature as much expressiveness as designer Yusuke Naora would have liked. Naora wanted to get a harder, grittier and more mature feel, and in search of inspiration he went a Japanese Special Forces training camp to see what being a military cadet would be like. This was also used as an opportunity to test out new HDR camera tools.[16]

The story centers around four nations heavily based on Chinese mythology of four gods, each nation being related to one. This concept also exists in Japan and is where the Four Symbols comes from (the Four symbols has also been previously used in other Final Fantasy games).[17]

The "school of magic" aspect of Final Fantasy Type-0 has been compared to Harry Potter, but Hajime Tabata has said the settings are drastically different, and that he personally was not influenced by Harry Potter when working on the title.[12]

After the original version's release Tabata said he would have liked to be more thorough with the storytelling and make it easier to comprehend.[12]

As Final Fantasy Type-0 started as Final Fantasy Agito XIII as part of the "Final Fantasy XIII series" of the Fabula Nova Crystallis, it was planned the game would have thirteen playable characters. One playable character ended up being taken out, and two more (Machina and Rem) were added into the roster who start with a different back story than the rest of the group, ending with fourteen playable characters in the final game.[17] The inspiration for such a large cast came from the traditional Japanese war dramas that were popular and featured several characters,[15] and from the belief they would be unable to portray the sense of history if the story was told through a perspective of one character, as history was to be the story's focus.[7]

As the game has no main hero, Square Enix referred to Hollywood movies for how to distribute the focus among the cast equally. "We see a lot of movies that put a focus on numerous characters vs. one protagonist," Tabata has said. "[I] really wanted to focus on the unit as an entity [...] and view their actions from slightly afar."[4] After it was decided the game was going to have an ensemble cast, Tabata sat down with Tetsuya Nomura to design each class member. They wrote down each character's personality traits complete with strengths, weaknesses and faults, and decided how they would be expressed in the game. From these templates Nomura drew up the character designs, as each needed to be a distinct individual able to stand on their own as the "main character" even without the rest of the class. Tabata has mused that even if every member turned out not to be equally developed he thinks they got close to the effect he had wanted to achieve and was pleased with the results.[18]

Hajime Tabata said in a Famitsu interview that "it's becoming an intense experience where you do gun shooting with fire." On the subject of multiplayer, he added "Agito XIII will not have the standard multiplayer style of everyone gathering together to play. It will be a multiplayer system unique to this game".[19]

The combat was meant to be filled with tension and portray each playable character's personality on the battlefield.[12] The battles are more brutal and make an effort to show the physical consequences of conflict. "We've really tried to focus on the true nature of battle—what a realistic type of magic vs. weaponry type of battle might unfold like," Tabata has said. "If you're hit by fire, you burn. If you're cut, you bleed. It's approaching those realistic type of expressions within the Final Fantasy world atmosphere ... It's more of a realistic blow vs. just scraping away HP."[4]

The party members' AI wasn't a code due to technical restrictions with the PlayStation Portable, so the AI was focused on healing the player when their HP gets critical, and ensuring the AI-controlled characters wouldn't die easily or "steal" too many kills from the player. It was made this way because of the reserves function, as only the characters in the active battle party earn experience.[20]

The first Eidolon made for the game was Ifrit who was intended to be depicted as brutal, wild and berserk. At this time the team still played with the idea of making the Eidolons playable in realtime, and looked at the summoning video they made first of an Ifrit NPC that acted on its own. The team had the feeling it was not the beast they wanted him to be as he did not seem feral enough. When the team tried to make Ifrit playable for the first time, Tabata, who was trying it out, clicked the button and Ifrit made a powerful attack. This impressed Tabata so he decided they should try to overcome the technical limitations to make the Eidolons playable.[3]

After the game's release Tabata has reflected that he would have wanted to add ad-hoc capabilities and a co-op mode where players could help each other at any time and to adjust the leveling curve and balance of the magic.[12]

Final Fantasy Type-0 Ultimania hinted that Square Enix was looking to localize the game for international audiences, but it never materialized. On October 13, 2012 Jeremy Parish provided an update in regards to the possible localization for Final Fantasy Type-0: the editor-in-chief of 1UP relayed pessimistic news from Tokyo Game Show 2012 event. "...no less than four people I talked to at TGS (both inside and outside of Square Enix) made it very clear that the English version of Type-0 is moribund, at least in its current form."[21]

On November 1, 2012 Tabata said to Gamespot that: "Due to market reasons, we are taking a clean slate in terms of our plans. We feel strongly about bringing this title to the fans in North America and Europe, so if an opportunity arises that can become a conclusive factor, we are prepared to go into consideration right away."[12]

Though never officially confirmed, some sources claim that by 2012 Square Enix had shelved a near-complete localization that included an English script and voice recording work, because although the company had planned on localizing the game it was not deemed profitable due to PSP's poor standing in Europe and North America.[22] In July 2014 director Hajime Tabata confirmed that Square had done the bulk of localization work on Final Fantasy Type-0 back in 2011, but the PlayStation Portable's sinking overseas popularity led the company to put a hold on the release outside of Japan as the marketplace wasn't viable anymore.[23]

In August 2013 Square Enix America and Europe CEO, Phil Rogers, posted an open letter encouraging fans to share their questions, comments and other feedback with him via email. This was in response to Operation Suzaku, a fan movement to get Final Fantasy Type-0 localized in the west. Rogers promised to look into the matter but didn't want fans to get their hopes up, as localizing previously released games sometimes isn't possible when the team have moved onto other projects.[24]

On May 15, 2014 Square Enix's French Twitter hinted a Final Fantasy Type-0 localization would be announced at the upcoming E3.[25] This happened on June 10th when the HD remaster version for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was announced. During the 2014 Tokyo Game Show, an English version of the game's opening was presented.

A partial fan translation patch for the game was made by Truthkey, released in November 2011. It is a patch update for Disc 2 and only the main menu has been translated.[26]

SkyBladeCloud and his team of translators and programmers announced in mid-2012 that they were working on a full English patch. In March 2014 the team announced it would be released on August 8, 2014. Not long after Square Enix representatives warned the team the company intended to protect its copyrights, and asked if they would like to discuss further about mutual solutions to leave both parties happy. The team speculated Square was reaching out because they were going to announce a western release of Final Fantasy Type-0 and the other members of the translation team discussed the possibility of not releasing the patch to avoid hurting sales. In early June, SkyBladeCloud announced the patch was coming two months early, and would be available on June 8—the day before E3 2014 when Square was rumored to announce the official localization. The patch was immediately popular, SkyBladeCloud estimating 100,000 downloads in four days.[22]

The rest of the team was dissatisfied, some feeling the patch wasn't ready for release. In the coming days and weeks the release decision fractured the group. In E3 Square announced an official localization in a press release with no video footage. Within the next few weeks Square Enix started sending legal requests to SkyBladeCloud, and eventually asked him to take down the patch[22], and the fan translation and all content associated with it were removed from his website.[27] An updated version was released later by PiezoSparker (former SkyBladeCloud's team member), KernelPanic, and blackfire219. This version has graphical glitches fixed, re-translated some words, reconstructed sentences, removed duplicated words in the Crimson Codex, fixed multiplayer help guide page skipping and freezing, realigned obscured texts on context menus and NPC dialogues, and fixed description errors on Story Missions and Combat Exercises.

Step into the fray as Class Zero, a group of students from an elite military academy whose country is attacked by an aggressive neighbouring Empire. In the brutal and harrowing struggle that follows, defeat the Empire and uncover the secrets behind the war using a range of powerful magical and combat abilities and an exciting new battle system.

—Description from Steam Store.

On June 10, 2014 Square Enix announced an English localization of Final Fantasy Type-0 in the form of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD(ファイナルファンタジー 零式 HD, Fainaru Fantajī Reishiki Eichi Dī?) for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. On August 27, 2014 director Hajime Tabata confirmed at PAX 2014 event that the HD remaster was about 80% completed. A demo version was available for the fans who attended the event.[28]

Final Fantasy Type-0 was the first high-profile Final Fantasy game to not be localized in many years and led to vocal dissatisfaction among western fans. Seeing the demand, and receiving a fan-made petition asking for a western release[29], Square Enix decided to develop a new version of the game. Tabata mentioned that when Final Fantasy Type-0 was released on the PlayStation Portable in Japan Square Enix could garner a new, younger user-base. As Final Fantasy Type-0 brought a many new fans to the series in Japan, Square Enix hoped it would be the same for the overseas market.[23]

With Type 0, it was literally the demand from the fans that tipped the scales. The players are very important to us in the development. If I could, I'd love to go and thank each and every person who voiced their opinion, and wanted it to come to the western markets.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's Tokyo Game Show 2014 website accidentally leaked a number of unannounced exhibiting titles before the show, including a previously missing Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.[31] Release information came to light the next day: The game would be released in March 2015, and every copy would include a voucher code for Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae, a playable demo of Final Fantasy XV. The first gameplay trailer was released on September 17, 2014.[32] Footage of the English version was also released.[33]

All versions have an option of either English or Japanese audio, and the European version includes English and Japanese voice work and English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish subtitles.

In October 2014, Amazon Italy listed a PC version alongside its console counterparts, raising the possibility of a release outside consoles. This was confirmed by Square Enix as a listing error on the same day,[34] but months later the game was ported for PC and released via Steam. On January 20th 2015 Square Enix and Amazon teamed up with a promotional Twitter minigame called Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Twitter Battle.

In mid-2012 Square Enix shifted development of Final Fantasy XV to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and got a feel for the new consoles, which at that point had not yet been announced. After director Hajime Tabata gained a better understanding of the next generation of video gaming consoles, and liked the environment of the platform itself, he believed it would be a good fit for Final Fantasy Type-0.[23] After Tokyo Game Show of 2013 it was decided Final Fantasy Type-0 would get a remastering.[35] When the team evaluated the new development environment for Final Fantasy XV, they also evaluated what could be possible for a Final Fantasy Type-0 HD in terms of the specs that could be achieved. Development for the title started late 2013.[36]

Although an "international version" was considered (Japanese re-releases with new content are known as "international" versions), as Final Fantasy Type-0 would be a new release outside of Japan development speed was prioritized over adding of new features.[37]

The original plan was to have it on four consoles—PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One—to reach the widest possible audience, but around December 2013 or January 2014 it was decided to focus on the new generation platforms. By that time Square had taken note PlayStation 4 wasn't going to be as big a seller as they had thought, so part of the plan was to release the game on it to encourage people to buy it,[35] as Square Enix wanted to ensure fans own the latest consoles when Final Fantasy XV is released, with Final Fantasy Type-0 being their way of helping segue people into them. Another reason was Tabata's team never having worked with PlayStation 3, but being familiar with PlayStation 4 due to the Final Fantasy XV project.[35]

Though Final Fantasy Type-0 was a portable game, the HD version was developed exclusively for home consoles and the PC. Square considered a PlayStation Vita version, but Tabata had realized when making the original Final Fantasy Type-0 that to bring out the best in the title a bigger screen would be more appropriate for the depth and the distance between the enemies and party members,[23] and to better allow players see the small details.[35] The reason Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is available for Vita, but Type-0 HD is not, is because the former was developed on a PS3/Xbox 360 environment, while Type-0 HD was developed on a PS4/Xbox One environment; the difference in the technical specs would make it difficult to export the data to the Vita.[38] Square Enix has no plans to release the game on the Vita, but Tabata has commented that when they tried Remote Play for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and he saw the game on a Vita's screen it looked "awesome." If given the chance, Tabata would like to release the game on Vita.[3]

Tabata told GameSpot that a PC version was up for discussion and the PAX 2014 demo ran on PC.[39] In January 2015 he said there was no plans for a PC version, but that he was interested in Steam.[40]

Battle in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.

As the bulk of the content already existed and no new content was added, the game was merely fine-tuned and balanced. The remake ended up being more work than Tabata had anticipated in terms of the quality that needed to be met, as well as the amount of work that needed doing.[36] Tabata thought magic was too strong in the PSP version, but as Class Zero is a part of a magic-wielding nation it'd be odd if their magic was weak. Therefore, the physical attack abilities learned in the latter half of the game were augmented, and players can now choose between fighting with magic or fighting with physical attacks. When playing on the big screen the attacks are centered, and so the offensive power of enemy attacks has been raised since the player can now confirm their surroundings.

The Eidolons were re-balanced; in the original it was difficult to use them if one didn't level them up, but now players can summon them in rough spots to wipe out the enemies even when the summoned character is "incompetent" in battle.[29]

After receiving feedback from both the press and the fans on camera issues and that they wished for the party members to move faster, the team sought to appease these demands.[17] For the Jump Festa 2015 convention Square Enix had updated the camera, showcasing a video comparing the old camera versus the new which had been smoothed to resolve collision issues with geometry, and whose targeting had been improved to make both characters and enemies more visible.[41] The developers had to get rid of almost all of the camera behavior and logic from the PlayStation Portable version, and recreate it because when switching from the small PlayStation Portable screen, where the action is up close, and play it on the large TV screen, the inadequacies showed.[3]

The team improved the battle specs with regards to each playable characters to make battles more intuitive and easier to dodge and deflect enemy attacks.[36]

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is an evolved version made from a fusion of the know-how of the Final Fantasy XV development team and talents of HexaDrive. Most of the assets come from the PSP version, but the team made use of DirectX 11's functions.[29] The lighting now reacts to the laws of physics and the light and dark spectrum is greater than the PSP version. Character models used in the PSP version's cutscenes have been adapted as the playable models; following a work flow established for converting the high end CG to real time CG for Final Fantasy XV, the same know-how was used for Final Fantasy Type-0.

The change in the coloring tone from the original red to the golden in the HD version was not planned from the beginning, but came from the new logo. Yusuke Naora designed the new logo as per Tabata's request, and the team decided to unite the presentation of the new game under the golden tone from the new logo. The original idea was to change it from red to a warm golden tone, but the team found the graphics from PlayStation Portable would look too dark on a big screen and many details would be missed. They thus decided to brighten it up and the blue tone came in an effort to make everything as visible and sleek as possible.[3]

When the HD version was released many disliked the excessive motion blur from moving the camera. A patch to fix this was released later, alongside an updated version of the Episode Duscae demo.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD was released for Microsoft Windows via Steam in August 2015. Graphics were upgraded further for high-end PCs. Motion blur issues from the console versions were addressed, and the characters can now be even faster and the game shows more blood.

The three main differences to the original are the new high-definition graphics, new controls for traditional controllers with improved camera and new difficulty modes, as many Japanese fans had given feedback on the game being too hard.[23] The multiplayer option is removed from the HD version with the magic and items that could only be obtained through multiplayer in the PSP version being made obtainable in the main game. Developing a new form of multiplayer for home console use would have taken another year in development, and the priority was to reproduce the requested content precisely and release it as fast as possible. Thus, the link up with Square Enix Members feature and save data inherited functions were cut.[29]

All the special accessories and costumes available for the original game via demos and Square Enix Members site and other means can now be acquired from the game itself. There is also an extra costume, and new scenes unlocked in the Rubicus by doing missions.

The PC version is close to the version released on the consoles, but has a snapshop mode for taking screenshots, shows more blood, and the characters move even faster.

"If I could do anything I'd like [as his next project after Final Fantasy XV], I'd want to make Final Fantasy Type-1 first," director Hajime Tabata has said in an interview.[42] He has also said he would like to make it into a Final Fantasy subseries. Square Enix has registered trademarks for it in case there is willingness for continuation, and Tabata would like to make the "Type series" of all the things not viable in the mainline numbered series for an "alternative kind of Final Fantasy."[43]

As soon as the PlayStation Portable version of Final Fantasy Type-0 was finished the team moved on to do prototyping and investigating based on DirectX 11 on whether they could take advantage of that to make a sequel. A whole game didn't materialize, it was just an experimental project that was canned halfway through. However, the expertise gained from that was used in the development of Final Fantasy XV.[44]

Final Fantasy Agito, bearing the original name for Final Fantasy Type-0, is a game for iOS and Android and a follow-up to Final Fantasy Type-0. The game is a legitimate entry in the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy series, and Hajime Tabata and Takeharu Ishimoto return as producer and composer respectively.[45] A PlayStation Vita version named Final Fantasy Agito+, was to be released in January 2015, but was delayed when the team encountered critical problems in the development environment of the Vita, meaning the team had to wait for Sony to help correct it. It was said the company would fix a new release date,[46] but the game never released.

Early artwork for Final Fantasy Type-Next.

A teaser called Rise from the Ashes is shown after the original ending in the HD remake, suggesting a sequel.[47]

On March 20, 2015, director Hajime Tabata revealed artwork for the sequel, codenamed Final Fantasy Type-Next, in an event in Hong Kong.[48]

The initial shipment of the HD version came with a voucher to download a playable Final Fantasy XV demo titled Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae, and includes both English and Japanese audio. The Japanese version has voices and subtitles in Japanese and English. The North American version has voices in English and Japanese, and subtitles in English, French or Spanish. The Traditional Chinese/Korean version includes choice of English and Japanese voices, and Chinese and Korean subtitles. The European version has voices in English and Japanese, and subtitles in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

The Japanese HD release is available in standard and collector's editions, as well as a special hardware bundle that includes a Final Fantasy Type-0-themed PlayStation 4 along with a copy of the game, a DualShock 4 controller, a Final Fantasy Type-0 theme, and a download code for the Final Fantasy XV demo. The bundle was priced at ¥46,980 ($393) when it launched on March 19. There was also an Ultimate Box collector's edition exclusive to the Japanese Square Enix e-store. Priced at ¥19,440 ($163), the set packs the game in a special school admissions-themed box with a The Best of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and Final Fantasy Agito soundtrack, a school calendar that starts in April, a school ID, a set of Ace's magic cards, and a scarf with the Class Zero insignia.[41]

Multiple versions were released in the Asian region. All versions include English and Japanese voices but differ in subtitles. Those who pre-ordered a physical copy of the game received a limited-edition steelbook.

The English language version includes English, French and Spanish subtitles. The Asian localized version includes Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Korean subtitles. Both were released on March 17, 2015, the same day of the American release. The Japanese language version includes Japanese subtitles and was released on March 19, 2015.

Below are the official prices (for PlayStation 4) for each country in the region:

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD North American Collector's Edition was available in limited quantities for $99.99.[57] It included a golden Steel Book case with Yoshitaka Amano's artwork on the cover that holds the game disc and a 15-track collection of songs picked by the game's composer, Takeharu Ishimoto; a 200-page manga that takes place alongside the opening of Final Fantasy Type-0; an 80-page art book with foreword written by director Hajime Tabata; and five life-size replicas of the cards Ace holds in promotional materials with the fronts featuring illustrations of the game's Eidolons: Odin, Ifrit, Shiva, Diabolos, and Bahamut.

Those who pre-ordered the Collector's Edition from Square Enix entered into a sweepstakes to win a Final Fantasy Type-0 custom PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, an art canvas of Ace, a Vermilion Bird lapel pin and runner up prizes.

Hajime Tabata has stated that Type-0 was decided upon to reflect starting anew: Starting again from zero, a new series that is both like and unlike the traditional Final Fantasy games.[60]

Using the suffix Type appears to draw upon the East Asian production model variant identifier suffix (式, shiki?) or "-Type", that began to saw use in the 1920s in Japanese and Chinese manufacturing, particularly in the military industries.

In Japanese and Zen Buddhist culture, the numeric value 0 is synonymous with the concept of enso, a symbolic circle drawn in the manner of brush stroke calligraphy to empathize one's own traits and attributes. One feature of drawn enso related with the numeric value 0 is whether it is drawn completed or open; open represents incompleteness, development, and strive for completion; completed represents finality, perfection, all things tied together, and all things coming "full circle."

With heavy war themes throughout, Type-0 likely draws upon the reputation of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, or the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter planes used in World War II, known among historians and aircraft aficionados to have been one of the greatest fighter planes built. Their reputation helped elevate its shorthand identifier as something synonymous with quality and greatness.

In-game the Japanese names for the types of l'Cie are Type-A and Type-B. The "Type-0" can be taken to refer to Class Zero, the premier class of Agito Cadets from Akademeia who are the game's playable characters.

The game was originally named Final Fantasy Agito XIII. Even though the title has changed, the term "Agito" still appears within the story. Square Enix has also released a prequel mobile game called Final Fantasy Agito.

In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Player Icons of Ace are still referred to as being from Final Fantasy Agito XIII, even though it was released after the name change to Final Fantasy Type-0. This is due to their appearance as such in Dissidia Final Fantasy, and because the Data Transfer option between the two also transfers Player Icon data demanding consistency between the two games.

The menu cursor in Final Fantasy Type-0 is the same as the one used in the original Final Fantasy X announcement trailer.

Final Fantasy Type-0 is the first entry in the series to be given a C rating by the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization in Japan,[61] a Mature rating by the ESRB, and a MA15+ rating by the ACB.

The original official images of the HD version cover art contain a typographical error on the word "includes." This has since been corrected.